The Slayer Reborn
by filmFreak1
Summary: Chapter 6 now added! A villain from the future travels back in time to the late 1980's, drastically altering the timeline of the Buffyverse. Will Buffy and the Scooby gang still be able to come together to battle the forces of darkness? Contains violent content including character deaths. Spoiler warning due to references to events from the original timeline (TV series only).
1. The Wreck and the Tall Man

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them or make money from them; they are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc.

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><p>The rain was more intense than ever that night. The wipers were turned up to their maximum speed, but were still keeping the windshield just barely clear enough to allow the driver to still see the road.<p>

"With the election only two days away, many experts are predicting that Vice President George Bush will win the presidency over Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis with a strong majority in the Electoral College. These predictions are based on polls-" The reporter was interrupted when the woman in the passenger seat switched the radio off.

"I was listening to that," said the man who was driving.

"Honey, I'm getting really worried," said his wife. "We really should pull over. I don't see how you can keep driving in these conditions."

"Don't worry, just a little further," he replied. He pointed to a green sign as they passed it. "See? Only a half hour before we're safe and warm at home."

She jumped as an unusually bright bolt of lightning split the sky ahead. Then she sighed. "Okay, but please be careful."

Another flash. This one was much closer, and the sound which accompanied it was louder than normal for thunder; they both jumped this time. Then they saw him a minute later.

There was a man standing in the middle of the road a very short distance ahead of them

At the exact same moment, she screamed "_Look out!_" and he screamed "_Oh my god!_".

The husband slammed on the brakes, causing them to squeal. He knew in that moment it would not help, though. He did not even have time to swerve the car to avoid hitting the man.

A fraction of a second after the brakes started squealing, they saw the man in the road turn quickly and face them as they raced toward him. Then a flash of light blinded both the driver and his wife, this one soundless.

As the flash subsided, they both felt their stomachs lurch, and the world in front of the windshield seemed to be spinning. Then they were conscious no more.

* * *

><p>Next to the highway, a homeless man had witnessed the whole thing. He had been walking alongside the road, being careful not to let his worn out shoes sink into the mud. He was wearing a rain poncho, but he had had it for months and it had holes in it; it was doing him very little good. It had been days since he had slept with a roof over his head, and months since he had had any form of a permanent address. He was only in in his thirties, but his dirty face and long tangled beard made him look much older. Underneath the rain poncho, he wore a pack on his back containing his only possessions.<p>

He had been walking next to the highway, holding out his left arm and sticking up his thumb in hopes of getting a ride. Then he heard the sounds. Initially, it was a _zap zap_, a very electrical sound. He looked up, and saw that right in the middle of the road, white arcs of electricity had appeared in midair, like they were coming from an invisible source. The homeless man backed away from the road slowly. For a few seconds, the arcs got brighter and the zapping noises louder, until he had to shield his eyes with one hand.

Suddenly he was blinded by a bright flash and he heard a deafening _BOOM_. He yelled in panic as his hearing was temporarily dampened, and he saw spots in his vision.

When he was able to see again, he looked at the highway...and saw a man laying in the middle of the road.

"Hey! Hey, mister! You okay?" the homeless man shouted. No response. _He must have been killed by the lightning. But where did he come from?_ he thought.

Then movement. As the homeless man watched, the man in the road lifted his head off the pavement and then staggered to his feet. He was tall and slim. He was dressed in black pants and a black t-shirt which revealed muscular arms. His dark hair was short but thick. Even in the rain, smoke was coming off the road surrounding the tall man and off his clothes, but if he himself had been injured, he showed no sign of it. He turned and looked at the homeless man.

"Sir? You okay?" repeated the homeless man. Then he saw headlights approaching fast. "Look out, you're goin' to—" The squealing of the car's brakes interrupted him.

What he saw next changed his life forever. As he watched, the tall man in black turned quickly and put his hands out in front of him. The homeless man knew he about to see him get splattered all over the road, but he could not bring himself to peel his eyes away.

Instead of the tall man being sent flying, though, the opposite happened. As the car struck, a glowing, blue light briefly emanated from the man's hands. Instead of the _thump_ the homeless man expected to hear, there was only silence as the car flipped over from the back and flew over the tall man's head. The front of the car struck the ground first, then the top as it rolled forward. Then the car rolled over sideways two or three times as it went off the road. The homeless man had initially thought he was still deaf when the car first flew, but then he had heard glass break and metal bend after the car had struck the ground.

The homeless man looked on in horror at the wreckage of the car. He didn't have long to contemplate the damage and potential loss of life before he felt his rain poncho being grabbed from the front. He turned and found himself staring directly into the tall man's cold eyes; the rain was streaming down his face. A scream originated in the homeless man's throat but died before it could escape his mouth.

Then the tall man spoke.

"What day is it?" he yelled over the sound of the rain.

"What?" This was the only response the terrified homeless man could initially muster up.

The tall man shook him angrily before repeating the question. "_What day is it?_"

The homeless man remembered that he had been in church that morning; this church had consisted of a small gathering of believers in a high school gym. While he himself was not religious, he had attended because they always served free breakfast beforehand.

"S-S-Sunday," he stammered. "November the sixth, I think."

"What _year_?!"

"W-w-what?" He quickly corrected this response when he saw rage growing in the tall man's face. "1988!"

This appeared to be the right response, as the tall man smiled and loosened his grip on the rain poncho.

"A few years earlier than I had hoped to arrive, but it will do. Now one more question. I need to get to Sunnydale, California. What's the quickest way to get there, or at least to Los Angeles?"

The homeless man was about to tell him that he was actually very close to Los Angeles, but then looked to his left, over the tall man's shoulder. There were red and blue lights approaching in the distance.

The tall man turned and saw the lights as well. He let go of the homeless man and turned back to him.

"Looks like you got lucky this time. Not so sure about them," he said, gesturing toward the the wreck. "I think I smell gasoline. If you're going to help those people, you might want to do it now." Then he turned and ran off into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

_The goal of this story is to explore what a potential reboot of the Buffy mythology would be like, done in a similar fashion to the Star Trek movie directed by J.J. Abrams. I plan for this to be darker and grittier, and to allow for divergence from the show, while still faithful to its spirit._

_As always, leave feedback. It might just determine how inspired I will be to continue the story!_


	2. The Rescue

The homeless man watched the tall man until he was no longer visible (which, given the combination of the rain and the night and the tall man's black clothing, was not long), then immediately turned and ran toward where the totaled car lay.

Based on the smell and the large growing puddle visible under the car, gas was indeed spilling out. The homeless man saw smoke rising from the bent hood of the car, and knew that it might not be long before it went up in flames. He would have to be very careful.

The vehicle was laying on the driver's side. The driver, a handsome man of about thirty with brown hair, had evidently neglected to buckle his seat belt, and he had come partially out of the car through the broken driver's side window. Because of this, his body had been pinned to the ground by the vehicle. He was completely still, and his eyes were wide open, staring up at the sky without blinking. He was laying in the ever-growing gas puddle. The homeless man knew immediately that nothing could be done for him.

He got on top of the car (the top in this case being the passenger's side). The passenger's side door had already been smashed in during the accident and the window was broken, but to the homeless man's surprise, he was able to get it open. The attractive woman in the passenger's seat was badly bloody and bruised on her right side; her hair was matted with blood. Bits of glass decorated her dress as well as her head.

She was alive, but was coughing and was having a difficult time breathing. He guessed that her ribs were broken and may have punctured at least one of her lungs. She seemed to be barely conscious.

"Hold on, ma'am, I'll get you out!" Taking hold of her right hand to keep her from falling, he reached across her lap with his other hand and unbuckled her seat belt. Then he pulled her out by her right arm and lifted her over his shoulder. As he did so, he noticed blood pouring down his rain poncho; she had been hurt much worse than he originally thought. He would have to proceed cautiously.

A moment later he had gotten her away from the car and laid her on the ground. Noticing that her dress had hiked up several inches, he discreetly reached down and fixed it. As he did so, she opened her eyes and looked around, still breathing in an abnormally rapid fashion and looking confused and terrified at the same time.

"You been in an accident, lady. I pull you out of the car. Don' worry, help will be here any minute now," said the homeless man. The red and blue lights seemed to be taking forever to reach where they were.

She looked over at the wreck, then pointed with her finger. "Help..."

"Ma'am, I can't help him, nobody can help him, and that thing's about to blow."

"...help..her..." she finished with difficulty. Then she passed out.

"What? Her? Could you say that again?" shouted the homeless man. He looked at the wreck again. "_Son of a bitch!_"

He once again ran toward the car and got on top of the passenger's side, only this time he opened the rear door; this took a few tries.

There was an unconscious young girl in the back seat. She had blond hair and appeared to be about seven or eight years old. He had not seen her before due to this door's window being intact and it being dark inside the car. Thankfully, she was a great deal smaller and lighter than her mother; he was able to get her out with much less difficulty. He carried her in his arms.

Less than a few seconds after he had gotten a safe distance away and laid the girl down next to her mother, the car exploded; the force of it nearly knocked him down, and he felt a wave of intense heat.

After staring at the fire for a moment before the rain started to extinguish it, he turned back to the two people on the ground. From what he could tell, the girl had no serious injuries and was going to be fine. The same could not be said for her mother. He took off his rain poncho and covered them with it. Then he took off his pack, unzipped one of the compartments, and took out a white cloth. Going over to where the mother and child lay, he pressed the cloth against the mother's head injury in hopes of stopping the bleeding.

A few minutes later, the girl woke up. "Mommy? Daddy? What's going on? Why am I wet?"

"Sssh," he shushed, still holding hold the cloth to the woman's head. "You safe now, child. The ambulance be here shortly."

In addition to the burning gas, the homeless man though he could also smell something else— something very unpleasant to think about. _I best keep her distracted for a while before she know it's her daddy who cookin' over there, _he thought.

"My friends call me Calvin," he said. "What's your name, honey?"

"Buffy," the little girl replied. "Buffy Summers."

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

_I did not intend to take this long to tell what happened at the wreck; it sort of wrote itself. My intention is that next chapter will summarize several events that happened afterward, then I will skip forward to Buffy being in high school in her new timeline._

_Feedback is, of course, always very appreciated, whether it be positive or constructively critical._


	3. What Happened Afterward

When the police cars, ambulances, and firetruck finally arrived, the paramedics immediately placed Buffy and Joyce Summers on stretchers and sped them away to the hospital. The driver in the wrecked car was pronounced dead at the scene, but could not initially be identified due to the extensive burning his body had endured. A license plate check led them to learn that the body was that of Hank Summers, and a comparison of his dental records confirmed it.

Calvin Hannity, the homeless man who had pulled Buffy and Joyce from the car, gave the police a statement. He did not mention the tall man who had caused the wreck, as he believed doing so would at best make them believe he was crazy and at worst make himself a suspect; nor did he tell them that he had seen the wreck actually occur. Instead, he told them that he had come upon the car afterward.

Everything else Calvin told the police, however, was the truth: how he could tell the driver was already dead, how he had pulled the mother out and then the daughter, the explosion, and so on. The police had no reason to doubt him. They had seen him caring for the woman and child when they arrived; additionally, the investigation of the accident confirmed that the fire had indeed been a result of the gas spill, and an examination of Hank's remains indicated that he had more than likely died before the explosion.

Over the following week, despite the election and its outcome—the vice president did indeed defeat the governor of Massachusetts, in a landslide—Calvin Hannity achieved his fifteen minutes of fame. He was hailed as a hero by the media in the Los Angeles area once they learned how he had risked his own life in the rescue. When it came to light that he was homeless, several shelters and churches reached out to him, and he was finally able to get a place to stay and find employment.

Buffy Summers suffered only minor injuries, and was soon released from the hospital into the care of Arlene Summers, Joyce's sister.

Joyce Summers, age thirty, was immediately admitted for emergency surgery upon arrival to the hospital. Afterward, she was placed on life support in a coma. Despite the doctors' best efforts, she could not be saved; her internal injuries were too great. Forty hours after losing her father, Buffy Summers, who was two months away from turning eight years old, became an orphan.

* * *

><p>Hundreds of people were present at the double funeral, consisting of friends, coworkers, and family members from both sides. A casket sat on either side at the front of the church sanctuary. An enlarged portrait of Joyce, taken a few years back, was resting on a stand in front of the casket on the left, while the same had been done for Hank on the right. The family members sat on their respective sides near the front, while everyone else sat in whatever seating was available further back.<p>

Buffy sat on the left side next to the center aisle. Sitting next to her was her cousin Celia, with whom she was very close. Celia had dark hair and, like Buffy, was seven years old. On the other side of Celia sat her mother, whom Buffy called Aunt Arlene.

Buffy tried hard not to cry, and she succeeded for a while. A close friend of Hank's whom he had known since childhood gave his eulogy. Afterward, Hank's sister sang "In the Garden". Buffy had to wipe her eyes during the song. Despite the fact that Hank been raised Catholic and was not religious at all as an adult, this Methodist hymn was an old favorite of his, and he had sung it to Buffy when she was a baby.

Then Aunt Arlene stood and walked up to the front to give the eulogy for her sister, during which she described her and Joyce's childhood, fighting back tears as she related several humorous anecdotes which drew laughs from those present. This was when Buffy began sobbing.

She tried to be quiet, but it wasn't enough to keep those sitting nearby from noticing. Some thought the laughter from the audience had upset her, but they were wrong. She had heard a few of these stories from her mother and laughed at them herself. What had upset her was the realization that she would never again hear her mother tell them.

Celia hugged Buffy and whispered in her ear, "We'll take care of you, Buffy. Mama says you're gonna live with us now."

The blond girl smiled and nodded, tears still streaming down her face. "Thank you," she whispered back.

* * *

><p>The tall man dressed in black—the same one who had caused the deaths of Hank and Joyce Summers and had interrogated Calvin Hannity—was skilled at many things, including forgery. Thanks to this, he was able to create a new identity, adopting the name Maximus Wolf for himself.<p>

Another skill which Maximus possessed was memorization. Prior to traveling back in time, he had memorized the names of many companies whose stocks had done well during the eighties and nineties in his original timeline, and in the few years following his arrival to 1988, he put this knowledge to good use as he invested in these companies and made millions in the process.

It was during this time that Maximus made many contacts among the supernatural world, and soon had many demons and vampires working for him, once they realized how much more powerful he was than they. Most of their work consisted of spying and collecting information for him—he even had spies within the Wolfram & Hart law firm in Los Angeles—but he was not above having them do wet work for him, either.

They were all merely pawns to him, of course, pawns who were only a small part of a much larger plan.

* * *

><p>Maximus Wolf arrived to the construction site in the early afternoon. The construction foreman approached him as he got out of his car.<p>

"What's the report today?" Maximus asked.

"We're making good time, Mr. Woof," said the foreman. "Those new building supplies arrived yesterday, so we are green,"

"Wolf," corrected the tall man.

"Excuse me?"

"The name is Wolf," Maximus repeated, removing his sunglasses and glaring at the foreman. "Not Woof, Wolf. I won't warn you again."

Ordinarily, the foreman's personality would have demanded that he reply with sarcasm, but something about the tall man's dark eyes terrified him.

"Right...Wolf. My mistake," said the foreman, backing up. He turned back toward the construction site, paused, turned back.

"I need to ask you something."

Maximus said nothing, only stared as he raised one eyebrow.

"I looked over the orders and the supplies which came in today," continued the foreman. "I saw that many of them came from very strange places. I've worked many crews in my life, including a power plant once, and I have never seen any places or supplies like these appear on these lists before. Science labs and such. I know what the building plans are telling us to do, what to attach to what and how and whatnot, but I don't understand what it is we're actually putting together; what it actually does and shit. So, I have to ask...what exactly is being built here?"

"I am paying you to follow instructions, not ask questions." replied Maximus. "Don't forget, I am paying you way more than you would normally be paid for a regular job, and in cash, too. Strictly off the books, as we agreed, and we never see each other again once the job is complete."

"Of course, Mr. Woo—Mr. Wolf, but I need to know that you're not building a bomb or something like that," said the foreman.

Maximus chuckled. "You watch too many movies. I'll tell you this much, if it will make you feel better: I moved to this area a short while ago, from a place that was, shall we say, different."

"Okay," said the foreman, nodding. "And what's that got to do with what we're building here?"

Maximus smiled. "I'm building it to help bring a few of my friends here as well."


	4. Settling In

_Summer, 1996_

"We're almost there!" Arlene said. They had just passed the sign welcoming them to the town which they would soon call home. Celia and Buffy were sitting in the back seat. The brunette smiled and nodded; the blonde gave no response, only continued staring out the window, watching the buildings go by.

The two fifteen year old girls looked like polar opposites. The blonde had her hair tied back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a gray tank top, dark green cargo pants, and black boots. Her cousin, on the other hand, wore her hair down with a hairpins keeping it out of her eyes; her clothes included a stylish maroon blouse and a knee length black skirt.

"Now, as I said before," continued Arlene, "Michael is driving the U-Haul and isn't far behind us. I thought maybe we could drop by our new home first so you girls could see what it looks like before we start moving in, then go get lunch afterward. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great, mom!" replied her brunette daughter, smiling again.

"Buffy?" asked Arlene, looking at her blond niece in the rear view mirror.

Buffy looked up at her aunt, startled. "Huh? Oh, um, lunch sounds great."

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Look, Buffy," said Arlene after a moment. "I know this isn't really what you wanted, but with Michael losing his job and with what you di—after what happened at Hemery High last Spring, I thought maybe we could all use a fresh start—"

"Can we talk about this another time, Aunt Arlene?" Buffy interrupted, turning back to the window.

Glancing in the rear view mirror again, Arlene saw Celia looking at her and slowly shaking her head, as though telling her to leave it alone for now. Arlene silently agreed and did not speak again until they had arrived at their destination.

* * *

><p>It felt good to stretch her legs again, Buffy thought several minutes later. They had driven all the way from Los Angeles without stopping; it had seemed a lot longer than two hours.<p>

The apartment was located on the second floor. It was 900 square feet in size and had two bedrooms. There were two bathrooms, the smaller of which was accessible only from the master bedroom; Buffy didn't even have to ask to know that Michael and Arlene would be sleeping in there. Additionally, there was a kitchen, and the living room doubled as the dining room.

"...so, what do you think?" asked Arlene as she showed them around.

"It's nice, mom" replied Celia, looking around.

"Yeah, nice, Aunt Arlene," agreed Buffy with less enthusiasm.

"I know it's a lot smaller than what you're used to, girls," said Arlene . "We found the old bunk bed in storage; we thought it would help to have extra floor space, since you two will have to share a room. But I promise you, we won't be here forever. Michael's new job is supposed to pay well, and I'll be looking for a part-time job here myself. We'll save up some money, and then we'll buy a much nicer place."

Arlene looked around once more, beaming. "This is just the beginning, girls. The beginning of a whole new life, here in Sunnydale!"

* * *

><p>The furniture had all been successfully moved up the stairs and into the apartment once Michael—Celia's stepfather and technically Buffy's uncle, but she was certainly never going to call him that—arrived with the U-Haul, but there was still much moving, arranging, and unpacking left to do. At least they could now sleep in the apartment.<p>

Buffy sat by herself on a chair on the balcony overlooking the apartment complex, next to the apartment's door. It was quiet now; all the other residents had gone to bed. She herself could not sleep, though; this was not an unusual occurrence these days.

Opening the pack of Marlboros, she took out one of the cigarettes, placed it between her lips, and lit it. She had snuck the pack out of Aunt Arlene's purse; her aunt still thought that nobody knew that she was a closet smoker.

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her wallet and opened it; unlike other girls her age, she did not carry a purse. She had seen no point in it, as she did not ever use lipstick, makeup, or anything that other girls her age would carry around with them to use in their often vain attempts to make themselves prettier.

Upon opening the wallet, the two immediately visible items were her old student ID from Hemery High—she would have to get a new one for Sunnydale High once school started—and a picture of her parents and her. She slipped the latter of these out of its plastic cover and looked at it, as she did most nights.

The picture had been taken when she was five years old, a little over two years before the accident which had claimed her parents' lives. Hank was standing with his hands placed on Joyce's shoulders, while Joyce was sitting in a white chair, with Buffy seated on her knee. Buffy had already started losing her baby teeth, as her wide smile revealed. All three of the individuals in the picture looked so happy, so serene.

_Better times than these, _the blonde thought bitterly.

Her moment of nostalgia was interrupted when she felt something. Like something was watching her. She looked out into the parking lot again, and immediately saw what—or rather, who—it was.

There was a man standing in the parking lot staring straight up at her. The street lamps revealed that he was large, balding, had a large, bushy mustache, and was wearing a suit and tie. This was more than enough for her to know exactly who it was.

_Son of a bitch_, she thought. _I can't even get away from him after moving here._

She placed the picture back in the wallet and the wallet back into her pocket. Standing up, she set the cigarette pack and the lighter down on the chair, then dropped the cigarette on the ground and crushed it under her boot. She proceeded down the steps and into the parking lot.

"What the hell are you doing here, Merrick?" she shouted as she walked quickly toward her Watcher.


	5. Others Who Moved to Sunnydale

"Did you think your duties as the Slayer would end just because you moved?" asked the Watcher.

"After last year, yes!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Summers, but this is only the beginning. This town has a Hellmouth."

"A hell-what?"

"A Hellmouth," repeated Merrick. "An area where barriers between dimensions are weak, and where barely anything stands between earth and hell. They tend to attract vampires, demons, and the like. Truth be told, you're probably going to be right over it more days than not."

"What do you mean?"

"It's right under Sunnydale High School, I believe."

"You have _got_ to be shitting me!" She looked away for a moment, then back at Merrick. "No."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said no. As in, forget it. I never asked for this. Did you really think you could just disappear from my life for a few months and expect me to be waiting for you? Find someone else to fight your battles for you."

"You don't have a choice in this, Miss Summers. If you don't fulfill your duties as the Slayer, people will die!"

The Slayer narrowed her eyes at the Watcher. "Oh, you mean like they did last year? Fat lot of good my help did them. Some of my friends died because of me, in case you forgot!"

"For God's sake, Buffy!" the Watcher snapped.

Upon seeing the shocked look in the Slayer's eyes, he softened. "I am very well aware of how hard things were for you, especially after what happened to Ford and Pike. But that was Lothos' doing, not yours."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "I knew you needed some time. That was part of the reason I 'disappeared'; that and having to travel to England to go before the Watchers Council. But that time is over now; it's time to move on. This Hellmouth situation is going to involve you, whether you choose to fight or not. So you may as well prepare yourself."

Buffy opened her mouth but then closed it again after a moment.

Reaching into his suit pocket, Merrick pulled out a card and handed it to her. "I'm still in the process of moving my things here, but I've got my new phone line set up. I'll be in touch."

He turned away to go, paused, turned back. "One more thing. Thanks to the Hellmouth, you'll be seeing a lot more than just vampires; there's no telling what all sorts of things go bump in the night here, to be honest. My knowledge is a bit lacking in areas that don't involve vampires, so the Watchers Council decided to send someone else here to assist, someone with a great knowledge of demonology, black arts, and the like. I met him while I was over in England. Polite fellow; quite bookish, though, from what I could tell. You'll be working with him as well as with me."

Buffy said nothing for a moment. She just stared down at the ground. Then, looking up, she asked, "How do I get in touch with him?"

The Watcher smiled. "It will be easier than you think, actually. He's going to be the librarian at your high school."

* * *

><p>As Buffy reached the door of the apartment—thinking over what all had been said in the conversation that had taken place over the last few minutes—she noticed that a folded sheet of paper had been slipped under the leg of the chair where she had been sitting prior to seeing Merrick.<p>

_Was that there before? _she wondered. She looked around, but didn't see anyone. Reaching down, she slightly lifted up the chair leg and grabbed the paper. Then she opened it.

It read as follows: "There is a park located a few blocks up 2nd Street from where you live. Meet me there." It was unsigned, but Buffy knew immediately who it was. Instead of going to bed, she immediately when back down the steps and out of the apartment complex.

* * *

><p>Upon reaching the park, she was greeted by the sight of what appeared to be a man and a woman embracing, with the woman's back to her. She quickly noticed, however, that the man was actually struggling to get away from the woman and very much failing to do so.<p>

Immediately, she ran up behind the woman and grabbed her, pulling her away from the man and throwing her to the ground, revealing yellow eyes, sharp teeth, and a pronounced brow ridge.

"Go! Get out of here!" the Slayer shouted to the young man, who was now clutching his bleeding neck. He did not have to be told twice.

After watching him run out of the park, she turned to the female vampire, who was now sitting up and looking at her, smiling. Her face had reverted to human form, revealing a pale, beautiful young woman who appeared to be thirty; her dirty blonde hair hung down around her shoulders.

"I swear I will stake you!" said Buffy. "One of these days!"

"Can't say I haven't heard that one before," replied the vampire, standing up and brushing herself off. She was wearing a red knee-length dress with a black leather jacket.

"I mean it! I know what you do, but at least make sure I never see it or hear about it!" said Buffy angrily. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I moved," replied the vampire. "Decided I had no reason to stay in LA if you weren't there."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around lately."

"So I noticed with your Watcher earlier tonight."

_So she did leave that note while I was talking to Merrick,_ Buffy thought. _She's gotten good at sneaking._

"So did you have me come here because you wanted to tell me something, or just to say hi?" asked Buffy.

The vampire smiled, then gestured toward a nearby park bench. "Let's sit down and I'll tell you about it. But first, why don't you give me a hug?" She held out her arms expectantly.

Buffy hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the vampire. They embraced for several seconds.

When they parted, the vampire said, "It's really good to see you again, honey."

Buffy couldn't help but smile. "It's good to see you, too, Mom."


	6. Mother

_Early 1989_

It had been two months since Hank and Joyce's funeral. While she had made sure no one else could see, Buffy had cried herself to sleep more than a few nights during that time. She loved Celia and Aunt Arlene, but she missed her parents terribly.

That changed on the night of January 17, 1989.

She had gone to bed just an hour before, and was in the halfway state between being awake and being asleep when she was jolted fully awake by a tap on the window. For a moment, she thought she had dreamed it until she heard two more taps. She looked from her bed on the top bunk to the window, which was covered by curtains which blew in the breeze; she had left the window cracked open.

There was a human-shaped silhouette visible in the curtains.

Buffy was about to scream to wake up Celia on the bottom bunk (she was a deep sleeper and had not been woken up by the tapping) when she heard a very quiet but familiar voice: "Buffy."

She was stunned for a moment and thought she had imagined it, until she heard it again.

"Buffy. Come to the window."

The small blonde immediately sat up and proceeded down the ladder to the floor; her brunette cousin continued to snore softly. She pulled the curtains open and confirmed who the mysterious person at the window was.

"Mommy!"

Joyce immediately shushed her. "Quiet, honey, we don't want to wake your cousin. Put your shoes and coat on and come out here."

Buffy put on her shoes as asked, being careful not to disturb Celia. Then she tiptoed through the house and went out the front door. The first thing she did was rush up to her mother and hug her. Joyce picked her up in her arms and swung her around.

"You came back. I thought you were gone forever," said Buffy, as joyful tears started pouring from her eyes. "I thought you were dead. But you came back, mommy."

"I was dead, honey...still am, in a way. But that's a story for another time. The important thing is that I'm here now, and I'm feeling the best I ever have."

"You've gotten stronger, too," replied Buffy. "You couldn't pick me up so easy before. Did dying make you stronger?"

Joyce smiled again as she set her daughter down. "Let's take a walk."

Had there been any other people awake at that time, the two females would have made for a rather strange yet adorable sight: a blonde woman wearing a nice red dress and a leather jacket, who was holding the hand of her daughter wearing a coat and pajamas.

"Your hand's cold, Mommy," said Buffy.

Joyce let go of Buffy's hand, but said nothing.

A moment later, Buffy asked, "What about Daddy? Is he back, too?"

Joyce's smile was gone now. "I'm sorry, honey, but he is truly gone. What brought me back could not have done the same for him."

"Oh," said Buffy, disappointed. "Well, I'm glad to have you back, anyway."

"I'm sorry I took so long to get around to seeing you. I had some...things I had to deal with."

"It's okay, mommy."

Joyce's smile reappeared. "So how's my sister Arlene doing?"

"Okay, I guess. She's dating a man now."

"Huh, wasn't sure she'd ever get back into dating," said Joyce. "So what's he like?"

"His name's Michael. He's alright, I guess. I don't really like him, but Celia does. Will you be coming to live with us? Or will I be coming to live with you?"

Joyce stopped walking. Kneeling down, she turned her daughter to face her and spoke quietly.

"Honey, I'm sorry, but that won't be happening. You're going to continue to live with Arlene and Celia."

"But why?" Tears started forming in the little blond girl's eyes again. "Won't I ever see you again?"

"Believe me, it's for the best. In fact, you can never tell anyone that I'm still around. They have to believe I'm dead."

"Even Aunt Arlene and Celia?" asked Buffy.

"_Especially_ Aunt Arlene and Celia," replied her mother. "But don't worry, I'm not gone for good. I plan to visit you often. It will be our little secret, okay?"

* * *

><p><em>Summer, 1996<em>

"So...what did you want to talk about?" asked the Slayer.

"I came here to warn you about things in this town."

Buffy sighed. "I know about the Hellmouth, mom. The thing that attracts all things spooky. Merrick told me."

"Did he tell you about anyone or anything specifically?"

"No, why?"

"There's this one vampire you'll have to deal with eventually. He calls himself The Master."

"The Master? Really? He couldn't have come up with something more original than that?"

Joyce shrugged.

"Well, where do I find him?" asked Buffy. "I'll go deal with him right now!"

"It's not as simple as that, Buffy. First, I don't know exactly where he is. Second, he's surrounded by many loyal and longtime followers. He's also very old and very powerful." Joyce turned and looked at the Slayer. "At his full strength, I hear he's more powerful than Lothos was."

Buffy's heart sank. "No," she said quietly.

"Fortunately for you, he's also literally underground. He's been sleeping there for a few decades and only recently woke up, from what I understand. He has to have his minions go out and do his work for him. He's weak but he won't be that way for long, not unless you stop him."

"So what should I do then?" the slayer asked.

"You mentioned Mr. Merrick was still around?"

"Yes. He said there's going to be a second Watcher helping us, too. He didn't give me his name."

"Good," replied Joyce. "Start with them. From what I hear about the Master, there should be a lot of books that will help you out."

* * *

><p><em>Early 1989<em>

As they got back to the house, Joyce said to her daughter, "Guess what time it is."

"What, mommy?"

"It's after midnight. Which means it is now..." she trailed off expectantly.

"You remembered, mommy!" Buffy squealed with delight for an instant before Joyce immediately shushed her, laughing.

"Quiet honey, you'll wake the family! Yes, I did remember. And I got you a little something, too." Reaching behind a bush near the window where she had first gotten Buffy's attention, Joyce brought out a small gift bag and handed it to the blond girl.

Buffy pulled several pieces of tissue out of the bag, then found the gift itself. It was a stuffed animal; a pig, to be precise.

She hugged the stuffed animal tightly. "I love it. Thank you, mommy!"

Joyce smiled. "Happy Birthday, sweetie. What are you going to name it?"

Buffy thought for a moment. "Hmm, since he's a pig, I'll call him Gordo!"

"Where did you get that name from?" asked Joyce.

"They've been teaching us some Spanish words at school recently. Gordo means 'fat'."

Joyce laughed. "I like it. Mr. Gordo it is, then!"

* * *

><p><em>Summer, 1996<em>

"I gotta ask, mom...why are you helping me?"

"You know why. Because I love you," replied Joyce. "Why are you even asking?"

"That's the thing...you have no soul. When I first learned I was the Slayer, I was told that when a person becomes a vampire, that person is dead...it's just that a demon is now using their body. So how can you love me? Or am I totally not understanding how that works?"

The vampire smiled. "I think the Watchers' explanation is a bit oversimplified, honey. I don't know whether who I am now is the same person as who I was before, but I do know that a few aspects of the old me are definitely still there. Including how much I love you."

Buffy smiled in return. Then she stood. "It's getting late. If I don't get back soon, Arlene's gonna throw a fit when she finds out I was out all night."

Joyce stood as well and embraced her daughter. "Take care, sweetie. I'll see you again soon."

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Apologies for the delay in updating. The flashbacks showing how Buffy first learned Joyce wasn't out of the picture yet were inspired by a short story from the comic book limited series Tales of the Vampires, which is set in the Buffyverse and had Joss Whedon's involvement. The story was called Father (written by Jane Espenson, who also wrote for the TV series) and depicted the relationship between a vampire and his human son over the course of the latter's lifetime. <em>

_My current plan is to have the next chapter catch up with the villain Maximus Wolf and what he's been up to; afterward, Buffy will start attending school and we will finally meet many of the other characters we came to love over the course of the TV series. Thank you for your patience, and as always, leave feedback!_


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